Fourth Of July Asbury Park

This revised and expanded edition of Daniel Wolff's classic study of Asbury Park, New Jersey tells the tale of the city's first 150 years, guiding us through the development of its lavish amusement parks and bandstands, the decay of its working-class neighborhoods, the spread of its racially-segregated ghettos, and the effects of recent gentrification.

A colorful history of Asbury Park, New Jersey, provides a chronicle of the evolution of the seaside resort town from its founding as a religious commune through 130 years of social, cultural, and musical development, offering tidbits of local history, profiles of the celebrities who passed through, its decline into blight, and the potential for its future. Reprint.

Bruce Springsteen brought international attention to the Jersey shore by naming his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ. But the real Asbury Park has an even more fascinating story behind it: a seaside city of dreams that became a magnet for both the best and worst of America, playing host to John Philip Sousa, Count Basie, and Dr. Martin Luther King, as well as the mob and the Ku Klux Klan. Fourth of July, Asbury Park tells the tale of the city’s first 150 years, guiding us through the development of its lavish amusement parks and bandstands, as well as the decay of its working-class neighborhoods and spread of its racially-segregated ghettos. Featuring exclusive interviews with Springsteen and other prominent Asbury Park residents, Daniel Wolff uncovers the history of how this Jersey shore resort town came to epitomize both the promises of the American dream and the tragic consequences when those promises are broken. Hailed by The New York Times as a “wonderfully evocative...grand, sad story” when first published in 2006, this revised and expanded edition considers how Asbury Park has changed in the twenty-first century, experiencing both gentrification and new forms of segregation.

Asbury Park's diverse array of landmarks creates an unforgettable impression of this legendary seaside city. They tell the story of its past, present and even future. The elegant, Art Deco-inspired Convention Hall captures the resort's glittering heyday in the 1920s and '30s, while structures like the Upstage seem to echo with the voices of aspiring musicians like Bruce Springsteen when they played at intimate venues, defining Asbury's world-renowned music scene. As the city forges ahead with ambitious redevelopment plans, many neglected buildings have been rehabilitated, but others continue to deteriorate, despite a groundswell of public opposition. From opulent movie houses to down-and-dirty rock-and-roll clubs, these landmarks trace the evolution of Asbury Park from a tiny nineteenth-century resort town to the world-famous playground of today.

A history of the acclaimed album which explores its themes of youth, escape, and potential, considers how it cemented Springsteen and the E Street Band's place in American art, and describes the obstacles that challenged its creation.